“See? He is so severely conservative! He is so dreamy, covered in dreamy sauce with soft, fluffy dreamy dumplings.”

-Ann Counter & Jennifer Rubin.

portlandon

Christy should stop stalling and build the exchanges already. Otherwise he’s just giving the democrats a club. You can’t win, governor Christy. Besides, it’s not like the federal government doesn’t already play a role in health care.

From both a political and practical standpoint, it does not make sense to take on this bear

Doesn’t matter. I will not be voting for him should he be the GOP nominee for President in 2016. I will be voting for a real conservative this time. And if there isn’t one running, I will write in a vote.

I am afraid you are engaging in wishful thinking. You must see clearly. One can still oppose Obamacare while understanding the reality of the current situation. Not a lot of options here.

Obamacare was not written by the Obama administration or by Congress. It was written by corporate America, and not just by the insurance companies. It was designed to unburden corporate America of its ruinous health care expense burden.

This is actually not a bad thing. Our employer-based health care system is a disaster. Why should an employer bear the de facto responsiblity for the nation’s health insurance? The system started out by accident, as a way to attract workers during a the period of WWII wage and price controls, and evolved into a monstrosity. It is a bad system for the employer, who is crushed under the expense, and a bad system for the employee, who receives reduced wages, and who is tied like a serf to his job because of the benefits.

Now employers will shed this burden because they can. Not all, but enough. Empoyers in high value-added, profitable, very competitive businesses will still offer health benefits to employees. Employers on the edge, barely profitable, facing brutal foreign competition from firms that don’t have to offer benefits to employees, will not.

It will start slowly, with part timers. Wal Mart has already made their announcement. They are high profile. They are being criticized. They don’t care.

The trickle will turn into a flood as more and more businesses see that there is no real downside to dropping employee health benefits. Companies will say that they had to drop benefits, or either close or move offshore. At least people will still have jobs! People will accept this.

What people will not accept is not having the option of affordable individual health care plans, which they must purchase or pay a tax/penalty, made available through state exchanges.

These people will not move to a state that has a functioning exchange. They will make sure that their state has a functioning exchange.

By voting blue.

]]>By: txmomof6http://hotair.com/archives/2012/12/06/christie-nope-we-wont-be-building-a-state-exchange-in-new-jersey/comment-page-1/#comment-6556093
Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:12:36 +0000http://hotair.com/?p=233392#comment-6556093The best part about all of this is that the states are actually choosing. Pelosi/Reid/Obama thought all they had to do was tell the states they had to do it or lose their Medicaid funding and all the states would be forced to do it and carry the burden of the costs. Thanks to the Supreme Court, that was considered coercive and they can actually make a choice.
]]>By: redguyhttp://hotair.com/archives/2012/12/06/christie-nope-we-wont-be-building-a-state-exchange-in-new-jersey/comment-page-1/#comment-6555762
Fri, 07 Dec 2012 05:19:25 +0000http://hotair.com/?p=233392#comment-6555762

Oh yes, I am sure that a civics lecture and a lawsuit are going to satisfy some man or woman with high blood pressure and diabetes who just lost his or her health insurance and doesn’t have a viable means of purchasing the affordable health insurance that he or she is mandated by law to purchase.

How about a single mom whose kid breaks a bone on the playground or is sick.

Or a 52-year old cancer patient?

They will blame the person and party denying them care, and reward those that give them care.

Any politician or party who refuses to implement an exchange in their state will pay a huge political price.

This is a bad strategy and will end in failure.

Mr. Arkadin on December 6, 2012 at 7:45 PM

If those folks needed healthcare through an exchange then they need to move to a state that has an exchange. Under Obamacare all of those people would have options. They do not need an exchange to get healthcare. Obamacare will end in failure – just has our glorious President has.

Not to mention, the more astute citizens of this country are likely making contingency plans of their own, such as seeking out doctors who are starting up concierge practices, along with the inevitable black market for healthcare that will no doubt spring up.

State governments are still subject to the will of the people of those states, whatever their political persuasion. When enough of the electorate has no access to affordable health care because the exchanges have not been set up, those governents will be voted out of power, or they will cave when they see the writing on the wall.

Mr. Arkadin on December 6, 2012 at 8:22 PM

You could well be right Mr. Arkadin. But there are a wealth of assumptions in your argument that bear discussion.

– You are assuming that employees who currently have high quality employer subsidized healthcare plans will suddenly lose all coverage.
– High quality (gold plated, if you like) policies are really almost unheard of now in the private sector. Deductibles and premiums have gone up by double digit percentages for years now. As have exclusions and riders.
– Very low quality policies, like the ones offered to perma-temps, will still be offered because the impact of OCare to the employer will be minimal. Why? Because the employer subsidy is already very low.

– You are assuming that ambitious state executives haven’t seen all this coming from the word go and developed multiple contingency plans. You can assume the electorate is stupid, assuming they are is unwise.

Washington state, not exactly a conservative stronghold, just passed a law to entirely legalize marijuana. This is in absolute contradiction to Federal law. The lesson scales and nullification and withholding can be used.

Yes, because a majority of the population of Washington State is fine with legalized marijuana.

The majority of the populations of any state will not be fine with not being able to access affordable health insurance because elected state officials refuse to establish exchanges in order to prove a political point.

People can only stand on principle for so long. Faced with the injury, financial ruin, or loss of life of self or a loved one will cause most people to cave on their opposition to Obamacare.

State governments are still subject to the will of the people of those states, whatever their political persuasion. When enough of the electorate has no access to affordable health care because the exchanges have not been set up, those governents will be voted out of power, or they will cave when they see the writing on the wall.

You’re assuming all these state governments just roll over and take it in the kiester.

In this doomsday scenario that is precisely what they will NOT do. They have many options open to them.

Washington state, not exactly a conservative stronghold, just passed a law to entirely legalize marijuana. This is in absolute contradiction to Federal law. The lesson scales and nullification and withholding can be used.

To awesome that some of these state governments will just go softly into the night at the behest of Lord Bark fails to recognize the egos involved.

Any governor worth their salt will point out to voters that this is the Federal government’s doing not their own and lawsuits will fly if the IRS tries to punish citizens for not taking out health insurance from a non-existent exchange.

Oh yes, I am sure that a civics lecture and a lawsuit are going to satisfy some man or woman with high blood pressure and diabetes who just lost his or her health insurance and doesn’t have a viable means of purchasing the affordable health insurance that he or she is mandated by law to purchase.

How about a single mom whose kid breaks a bone on the playground or is sick.

Or a 52-year old cancer patient?

They will blame the person and party denying them care, and reward those that give them care.

Any politician or party who refuses to implement an exchange in their state will pay a huge political price.

Coulter is basically right. The people voted for tax increases. Polling shows a significant majority of people in the US believe they want higher taxes on the rich. They do not understand basic economics and do not “believe in” notions like the Laffer curve where revenues fall when tax rates are raised.

The only way to get that through to these people is to let it happen. Give them the tax increases, show them the REDUCED revenue and increased unemployment that results from it, then rub the Democrats’ noses in that in 2014 and kick them out of the Senate.

If we DON’T do that, the economy is STILL going to go South because of Obamacare and other crap but the people are going to blame us for the deficits because we didn’t allow those taxes to go up. They are being fed a line of bull that the magic bullet to all of our problems is to increase taxes on the rich and they believe it. So give it to them. Then show them exactly what happened because of that and then we will have greater support from a broader cross section of the country for getting the socialists out of the Senate.

crosspatch on December 6, 2012 at 5:03 PM

I was convinced that the Conservative New Media would bring Obama down. But the opposite happened. The rise of the Tea Party took place because of the combination of internet networking and the Conservative New Media. But the reaction of the MSM was to punch back twice as hard, and sadly, most idiots believe what the MSM says. If the MSM is shouting that much louder and more hysterically, we Conservatives say “look, we’ve got them on the defensive”. But the louder and more hysterical shouting actually works.

I’m afraid we’re stuck back in the 1930’s, when FDR could just keep blaming Herbert Hoover over and over again, and people went along with it. If unemployment is 10% and gas prices are $6 a gallon in 2016, the MSM will say it’s Hoover’s Bush’s fault, and the idiots will believe them. The fall of Lehman Bros and AIG right before the 2008 election, with an America hating Marxist poised to be elected, will prove to be the death knell of this once great nation. The American people are in a trance. Logic won’t work anymore with them.

Sandra Fluke worked, Julia worked, Lena Dunham worked. It all worked. 60% of White Americans still have common sense, the rest of the country is batsh*t crazy. They believe Republicans are not only knuckle dragging cavemen, they’re knuckle dragging cavemen who wrecked the economy. And as long as the MSM keeps up their propaganda, the idiots will NEVER catch on. Too many young people who have been completely brainwashed. Too many immigrants who say “I likee a big government that take care of people”.

By law, a citizen must now have health care, either through an employer or through the individual market. If those exchanges, with the subsidized plans, are not in place when 100′s of 1000′s of people lose their benefits, they will vote the recalcitrant governors and legislators right out of office. It will happen everywhere. It will happen in Texas and in Alabama, as well as New Jersey.

That’s why the Obama administration is dragging on this. It’s deliberate. Make it harder to set up the exchanges, empower the recalcitrant conservative governors and state legislatures, and watch the entire country go blue.

I’m willing to bet that the Obama administration has some sort of national exchange ready and waiting in the wings.

Anyone who thinks this is not going to happen is a fool.

Mr. Arkadin on December 6, 2012 at 6:36 PM

Call me a fool then.

Any governor worth their salt will point out to voters that this is the Federal government’s doing not their own and lawsuits will fly if the IRS tries to punish citizens for not taking out health insurance from a non-existent exchange.

Yes the Democrats are quite fond of using the constitution as toilet paper. No, that tactic won’t work. Last time I checked, people trust their state legislatures a heck of a lot more than Congress and the IRS.

]]>By: Illinidivahttp://hotair.com/archives/2012/12/06/christie-nope-we-wont-be-building-a-state-exchange-in-new-jersey/comment-page-1/#comment-6555163
Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:19:51 +0000http://hotair.com/?p=233392#comment-6555163Ohh.. Butterball and his boyfriend had a tiff. So sad. Springsteen will have to mediate.

Whatever Christie does to actually repair his image, remember that Fatty screwed Romney to preserve his own career. He was hoping that you’ll forget once he does some token conservative things and yells at a few more union hacks.

I think he’s funny when attacking unions or the media, he’s an idiot when he’s walking along the beach with Barry, he’s good for New Jersey and should stay there (no national office) and I don’t care what he weighs.

Nope. Republicans like Christie, if he is serious, are living in fantasy land.

Companies have already started dumping employees from their health care rolls, starting with part time workers. See WalMart. Soon more large companies will join the bandwagon, dumping part time and then full time workers, knowing that they can save money by not giving employees benefits, and paying the fine/tax instead.

This is the devil’s bargain made by Wall Street/Big Business with Obama/Democrats. Pay a little bit more in taxes in return for losing ruinous health care and retirement obligations. It’s win win for these people. It is why Warren Buffett is running around saying he’d be willing to pay higher taxes. Even with the bigger tax bite, he’ll make more money.

By law, a citizen must now have health care, either through an employer or through the individual market. If those exchanges, with the subsidized plans, are not in place when 100’s of 1000’s of people lose their benefits, they will vote the recalcitrant governors and legislators right out of office. It will happen everywhere. It will happen in Texas and in Alabama, as well as New Jersey.

That’s why the Obama administration is dragging on this. It’s deliberate. Make it harder to set up the exchanges, empower the recalcitrant conservative governors and state legislatures, and watch the entire country go blue.

I’m willing to bet that the Obama administration has some sort of national exchange ready and waiting in the wings.